Risk Factors Schizophrenia

Risk Factors Schizophrenia The Effect of Perinatal Risk Factors on the Incidence of Schizophrenia Background Developing schizophrenia is dependent on different factors. A person who could possibly develop the illness later in life is faintly unusual in terms of cognitive skills, motor functioning, and social behavior as compared to his or her peers. This states that indicators exist as to whether a person will be vulnerable into being a schizophrenic later in life, as dictated by certain abnormalities that can be observed (Mortensen, 1999 and Dean, 2003). Most of the causes being held accountable for the development of schizophrenia can be traced back to genetic or biological factors and environmental exposure that operated early in life of the individual (Dean, 2003, Khasshan, 2008, Mednick, 1970, and Mortenen, 1999). Evidences regarding the effects of obstetric complications, prenatal illness, misuse of drugs, migration and travel, urbanization, and various life experiences on the onset of schizophrenia in later years in life have been noted. These were even incorporated and represented in causation models that encompass psychological, genetic, environmental, and social elements. These evidences can be used as models for clinical and research purposes of determining the risk of schizophrenia, as they cover a wide range of causative agents (Dalman, 1999 and Dean, 2003). It has been a challenge for researchers to understand the cause of schizophrenia, the etiology of which has brought about several hypotheses (Dean, 2003). Different risk factors affect the incidence of the illness, two of which will be given more attention in this paper. A number of epidemiological studies have indicated an increased risk of developing schizophrenia among people who were exposed to maternal infections such as rubella virus and influenza virus in utero (Westergaard, 1999). Other studies have shown that children who were born during inclement weather have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. These are supported by researches conducted on a population basis (Mortensen, 1999). Purpose As stated by the study conducted by Mortensen and others (1999), the location and the season of birth of an individual might be important in the development of schizophrenia. Aside from family history, these environmental factors can be associated with the onset of the disorder. Prevalence studies of Westergaard and others (1999) also showed that exposure to prenatal infections might be a factor in the development of schizophrenia later in life. There is, however, a poor evidence of a strong association between development of schizophrenia and exposure to influenza viral infection. This lead the group into determining whether or not prenatal exposure to rubella would indeed be a factor for schizophrenia development. This is in accordance with previous researches that rubella viral infection might be a significant cause for the illness. With all these research supports as foundation for a prospective study, this paper aims to give a sound explanation on how certain factors might affec t the possible development of schizophrenia later in life. This study will focus on two possible causative agents as parameters. The main purpose of this study is to determine if being born in severe weather, such as extreme hot or cold temperatures, or being exposed to the rubella virus in utero is linked to developing schizophrenia later in life. Research Hypothesis We hypothesized that there would be an increase in the incidence of early adult onset schizophrenia among those exposed to the rubella virus in utero and those born in winter months. Literature Review Several studies have been conducted on risk factors for schizophrenia. One study examined the outcome in 70 individuals whose mothers had rubella infections during pregnancy. Rubella is known to cause severe developmental problems in exposed fetuses. These individuals risk of having schizophrenia by the time they reached the mean age of 22 years was five times higher than normal It has been proposed that environmental factors may also be important in determining risk for schizophrenia. A study done by Mortensen and others (1999) showed that the place and season of birth account for many more cases of schizophrenia than family history of the disease, and family history has been the best-established risk factor. The groups study found out that the risk for schizophrenia was highest for births in February and March and lowest for births in August and September. Another study conducted by Mortensen and others (1999) concluded that schizophrenia was positively associated with birth in late winter. On the other hand, Hultman and others (1999) emphasized the evidences shown by neuropathological researches that the aberrations caused by pathogen invasion disrupt proper brain development. This in turn contributes to the onset of schizophrenia that might even be developed earlier in life than expected. This proposed hypothesis can be associated with the link between obstetric complications and schizophrenia, as both are dependent on risks brought about by prenatal infections, which in turn are connected with neurodevelopment of an individual. Theoretical Framework The physiological framework of this study is based on the notion that conditions during pregnancy have an effect on the fetus psychological development, specifically, the impact of season of birth and exposure to the rubella virus. The prenatal conditions of an individual have a direct effect on the persons future genetic and phenotypic make-up. The most important contribution of the obstetric development lies on the possible alterations on the genes of the individual. Exposure to such abnormalities has a considerable intervention with the normal functioning of the brain (Khasshan, 2008). This means that exposure to infections such as rubella virus has a meaningful link to schizophrenia development of the individual exposed to the pathogen in its prenatal stage. This is serves as one of the backbones of this study, as it is the foundational basis whether the link between congenital exposure to rubella and schizophrenia onset has reliable evidence. After the study which dwells more on the biological or genetic factors, the study will consider the environmental elements that can also be potential risk factors for the disorder. It has been established that the over-all make-up of an individual lies on genetic and environmental factors. The second part or backbone of the study concerns the environmental exposure effects as dictated by season of birth. This can be of importance since extreme weathers might affect a mother psychologically and physically, thereby creating an impact on the life inside her womb. Being born on extreme hot and cold weather can hence be linked to the development of schizophrenia later in life of an individual (Mortensen and others, 1999). Significance and Need for the Study The proposed study is important due to the health and psychological concerns of schizophrenia. Being a disorder which affects the entire lifestyle of the affected individual, it is of great significance to research about the etiology of the disease (Dean, 2003). Prenatal exposure to rubella viral infection might be a cause of the onset of schizophrenia, as well as the environmental effect of being born on an extreme season. Knowledge on these prenatal risk factors can contribute additional information on how to prevent schizophrenia development in an individual. References: Dean, K., Bramon, E., Murray, R., (2003). The cause of schizophrenia:neurodevelopment and other risk factors. Journal of Psychiatric Practice. 9(6), 442-454. Dalman, C., Allebeck, P., Cullberg, J., Grunewald, C., Koster, M. (1999). Obstretric complications and the risk of schizophrenia: A longitudinal study of a national birth cohort. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 281,p. 2170. Hultman, C.M., et al. (1999). Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for schizophrenia, affective psychosis, and reactive psychosis of early onset: case-control study. British Medical Journal, (318), p 421. Khasshan, A., Abel, K., McNamee, R., Pedersen, M., Webb. Baker, P., et al. (2008). Higher Risk of Offspring Schizophrenia Following Antenatal Maternal Exposure to Severe Adverse Life Events. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(2), 146-152. Mednick, S. (1970). Breakdown in individual at high risk for schizophrenia: possible predispositional perinatal factors. Mental Hygiene, 54(1), 50-63. Mortensen, P., Pedersen, C., Westergaad, T., Wohlfahrt, J., Ewald, H., et al. (1999). Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia. The Journal of the American Medical Association, (281), p. 1254. Ross, R. G., et al. (1996). Early expression of smooth-pursuit eye movement abnormalities in children of schizophrenic parents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, (35), p. 941. Sorensen, H., Mortensen, E., Reinisch, J., Mednick, S. (2004). Association between prenatal exposure to analgesic and risk of schizophrenia, British Journal of Psychiatry, 185, 366-371. Westergaard, T., Mortensen, P., Pedersen, C., Wohfahrt, J., Melbye, M. (1999). Exposure to prenatal and childhood infections and the risk of schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, (56), p. 993-998.

Advanced Language Arts Essay

Although teachers might disagree, having students eating in class will help students and teachers stay on task and not worry about lunch time. Staff should let us students eat during class because students will be more focused, awake, and excited to learn and participate in class. If student were able to eat during class then they would be able to concentrate on the objective they are learning instead of thinking about â€Å"what’s for lunch?† One of the many reasons students should be able to eat in class is due to that us students don’t have enough time to wake up earlier and cook our self a nice meal. We barely have enough time to get ready for school in the mornings. It is even harder, trying to eat breakfast, if a student has to walk to school every day. All of the years that I’ve been attending school there have not been a year when teachers don’t emphasize how important eating breakfast is. We have heard multiple of times â€Å"the most important mean of the day is breakfast.† Another reason why students should be able to eat in class is because teachers are allowed to eat in front of us but we are not allowed to eat in class. We should have to follow the same rules. There has been a time where I go to school with any empty stomach and I always see a teacher eating a granola bar. Seeing them eat doesn’t let me concentrate and it gets me more hungry and at that time I just hold my stomach tight and hope my stomach doesn’t growl. My final reason why teachers should let students eat in class is because kids will have energy to participate in class. Shouldn’t all teachers desire to see all their students’ hands up eager to answer questions? If teachers would just give it a chance and let students eat in lass they would be participating in school activities and fund raisers. In conclusion, eating during class will help students concentrate and have energy.

Purchasing and Supply Management Essay

1.0 Introduction Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation (KFC) was the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain and third largest fast-food chain. KFC held over 55 percent of the U.S market in terms of sales and operated over 10,200 restaurants worldwide in 1998. KFC first opened in Australia 1968. Present day KFC now serves over 2million customers a week. With over 600 stores Australia wide. This report will aim to analyse and critique KFCs purchasing and supply management activities. In particular the legal, ethical, sustainability and social responsibility issues in purchasing and supply management, as well as supplier selection, evaluation and contracting methods. This report will provide an in-depth analysis of the purchasing methods and hope to show areas open for continuous improvement through changes in supply management and purchasing initiatives. 1.1 Background of KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation (KFC) was the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain and third largest fast-food chain. KFC held over 55 percent of the U.S market in terms of sales and operated over 10,200 restaurants worldwide in 1998. http://www.scribd.com/doc/53764758/Supply-Chain-Management-of-KFC. Since opening in Australia KFC has become ever growingly popular throughout the years, Though in recent times it has seen a gradual downfall which many believe is due to the sudden boom in healthy food options. Due to this boom KFC has seen numbers drop and other fast food outlets like subway have increased. Since then KFC has implemented a few pro environment social responsibilities initiatives such as â€Å"Ditching the palm oil contract† and opening its first ever energy efficient restaurant. When it comes to purchasing methods and supply management however there is always room for continuous improvement which is what this report aims to analyse. 1.1.1 Objectives & Goals One of the major objectives of KFC that they run their campaign in such a way that KFC creates and image in the minds of customers that customers want to go in KFC and will be the first choice for the customers. KFC wants to become the first choice because its they become the first choice it is excellent for the health of the KFC business because if business is expands then there is eliminate scope and the opportunity to get the maximum profit and utility. The Corporation has a vision KFC’s vision is to bring people of all ages, races and backgrounds together to enjoy ‘Soul Food’ – ‘proper food at reasonable prices’ – within bright and fun interiors. KFC is designed to be perceived as a fun and inclusive brand (KFC, 2011). 2. Purchasing and Supply chain management In Recent years with a ever growing shift towards more environmental approach for multi national companies especially fast food giants, KFC has come under much scrutiny with such happenings as the Indonesian chicken antibiotics incident 2013, Green peace packaging incident when claims were made KFC packaging is coming from Indonesian forest in 2012 and the free roam chicken incident 2011 where KFC quickly removed its free range chicken advertising after an investigation was launched into its suppliers.http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/kfc-pulls-free-roam-ads-after-watchdog-bites-chicken-suppliers-20110913-1k7tj.html. All these instances sparking world news articles and putting immense pressure on brand name and reputation in the global market, this all comes down to the purchasing and supply management. At the moment KFC purchasing and supply management are running at a low risk and avoiding any anticipated supply bottlenecks and building long term supplier relations. Though in today’s extremely competitive and lucrative market this is no longer enough, one option is to reposition the purchasing supply management within the organisation to make a globally acceptable change towards a more environmentally friendly purchasing and supply methods. This could be achieved by shifting towards a more hybrid structure with better global sourcing councils or corporate purchasing and steering committees and by shared resources between distributors and suppliers and possible implementation of fixed price incentives contracting. 2.1 Ethical standard Kentucky Fried Chicken is very keen about ethical standards both within and without the company as asserted by their company representatives. For instance the company is strict about is vendor engagements. Before a supplier can secure a contract with Kentucky Fried Chicken, they have to comply to similar ethical standards as KFC. This means that the supplier must not utilise under age labour to producer their commodities, they must pay fair wages and must also avoid placing harmful chemicals in their commodities. These concepts have governed the way KFC chooses other business partners too; they include contractors and manufacturers. One option here is to implement contractual renewals and to review the contract specifications annually with regards to global market and ever-changing ethical ideologies. This could see that KFC is the leader in ethical and social responsibilities, however could bee seen to add significant economic costs, which could be made up in brand name value and co mmunity awareness. 2.2 supplier section & Evaluation KFC Australia franchise boasts that 97% of its chickens are delivered fresh not frozen, And that all of the chickens are allowed to grow naturally without any additives such as hormones or stediods, they source chickens from reputable Aussie suppliers like Inghams, steggles and baiada.http://www.kfc.com.au/kfc-australia/ In Australia in particular there is a ever growing trend for local fresh produce and this is showing through all major supermarkets. Just 10 years ago there were no farmers markets in SA or Victoria now there are more then 70 held regularly. (http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/165974/safood_consumers_report.pdf) This trend has since had a knock on affect to the fast food industry and suppliers. With a majority of the main fast food distributors now moving to local markets and produce in hope to boost brand name whilst showing corporate responsibility and intern create profit margins for the company. Although KFC Australia already sources some of its supplies from local farmers there is more that could be done. One option could be to move towards a more local decentralized suppliers, though this would add logistical implications there is room to gain quality and cost through increased competition. Though considering huge infastrucal change that would  be need to implement this the best option is to build on the supplier relationship currently active and create a mutually beneficial agreement with the implementation of 2.2.1 Supplier performance monitoring & measurement (Supplier code of conduct)- http://www.kfc.com/about/supplier.asp KFC’s suppliers are all held to strict and stringent quality and control measures under contracts. Though this is a area that could be expanded on to create continuing control methods, as KFC is such a large name in the food industry and boast a reputable brand name. Such aspects as supplier quality monitoring and measurement really need to be looked at, currently it is up to the suppliers to monitor and measure their own quality. The importance of this was shown last year in shanghai when KFC cut over 1000 supplier contracts in Shanghai and their parent company â€Å"Yum† experienced a 6% market drop that year which was more then the 4% previously predicted due to high levels of antibiotics being found in the chicken. http://www.businessinsider.com.au/kfc-cuts-more-than-1000-suppliers-after-china-chicken-scare-2013-2 When it comes to food giants such as KFC emphasizing prevention over detection is a must and one must aim and reach almost zero defects as the fast food industry is one of the most competitive quality driven industries in Australia. One recommendation is to implement a quality control team that goes out and measures the quality and performance of each of the suppliers on a regular basis. This could also carry on to within the restaurants themselves as currently KFC only audits a set portion of their restaurants each year and quality could be improved by auditing all of the company’s venues at least annually. This could also provide vital supplier selection data and if collected and logged correctly a great monitoring and measurement system to judge suppliers by. 3. Means of Contracts 3.1 Means used for the obtaining of contracts KFC has many suppliers from which Pilgrims’ Pride supplies them the huge amount of chicken and those chickens then go for further process and then to be served into KFC restaurants all around the globe. KFC must convey proper steps and methods to evaluate suppliers and their material as suppliers affect the overall operation of KFC. Furthermore Suppliers must focus on  their improvement because if KFC is affected; they would be affected too. There are three means whereby KFC, obtains its supply contracts from the suppliers. These three means are mentioned below: Direct Purchase: KFC franchises sometimes purchase directly from the suppliers in case of urgent supplies or when there supplier cannot deliver on time due to some reasons. This is only temporarily to meet the urgent demand and allow the operations to run without any abruption. Quotations: The KFC management after going through and analysing the supply needs requests the suppliers to prepare their costing data and send a quotation for supplies of raw materials necessary for the operation of the restaurants. Tenders: This is a process where KFC invites tenders to all the suppliers of food products out there in the market. Whichever supplier meets the product specifications, quality assurance and the cost set by KFC, gets the contract to supply raw materials to the KFC restaurants. 3.2 Renewal, Termination Most KFC outlets are owned by the franchisees, which operate the restaurants in accordance with the license issued to them by the KFC. The License Term shall expire on the 20th anniversary of the opening date subject to earlier termination pursuant to the Agreement. Upon termination or expiration of the License, the Franchisee shall immediately discontinue use of all KFC trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, and know-how and processes developed and owned by KFC and shall immediately and at no cost to KFC remove signs, menu board inserts, point-of-sale material, red and white stripes and any characteristically designed roof from the Outlet and otherwise change its exterior and interior appearance so that it is no longer confusingly similar to a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and no longer bears any KFC trademarks, service marks or trade names or designations or marks similar thereto. Renewal of Agreement; at the expiration of the term here of, Franchisee may extend this Agreement for successive ten (10) year periods, provided that at the time of expiration of the term hereof or the then current extended term: (a) Franchisee shall not have failed to remedy any breach specified by KFC. (b) Franchisee shall agree to make such capital expenditures as may be reasonably required to renovate and modernize the Outlet and its signs and equipment so as to reflect the image of Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets. (c) If renovation and modernization of the Outlet is not possible or feasible, Franchisee shall relocate the outlet. (d) Franchisee shall execute a new license agreement on the form then being used by KFC, but without any increase in royalty fee or advertising (e) Franchisee shall not have engaged breaches of The Agreement within the preceding twenty-four 24 Months prior to renewal. In the contracting and franchising of KFC’s network the report has found that this is a efficient method of contracting and no economically feasible changes have been found that would be seen to improve or add value to business. Conclusion This report found on its analysis of KFC’s supply and purchasing network that there Is potential to increase sales and brand name and value whilst increasing social responsibility, Though the increase in environmental practices and local producer investments. By raising the local purchasing this could increase quality, and has potential to decrease lead-time. By going for a more green approach KFC could minimize brand name implications and negative media attention whilst increasing social responsibility. Reference KFC. (2011). ‘Official Website’, Retrieved From http://www.kfc.com.au/index.asp

The American Dream The Inequality Of The American Dream

The United States is known as â€Å"The land of opportunity†, but does the country still live up to its name as the land of opportunity, for all? The American dream is one the main reasons many choose to move to the United States in hopes of gaining a better life not only for themselves but for their children. But with so many people striving to achieve their dream, the playing field has become more and more competitive making the dream a complete nightmare to achieve. From getting into colleges for degrees to obtaining desired job positions, moving up the social ladder has become a more strenuous task than ever before. This American dream has become more of an impossible dream because of income inequality and opportunity shortages from†¦show more content†¦The initial investment into education for a better paying job is very steep for the average american who makes around $46,409 stated by the U.S. Census and the saying that â€Å"More education leads to more moneyà ¢â‚¬  has changed to â€Å"Money leads to more money†. So if someone would come from a family with money there is a higher chance for them to become wealthy aswell, but for those do not come from a wealthy background would have to work extremely hard to pay the bills. To sum up it is easy for anyone to say that they will go to college, but income can become a factor that could crush their dream. Another main contributor to the deterioration of the American dream are the societal generalizations that limit opportunities for the ones who fall in the â€Å"Inferior† categories. Gender and race are two of the main categories that society creates stereotypes around, limiting the opportunities for all who are considered â€Å"Weaker†. One example of these generalizations can be within the higher educational system. Many colleges have higher acceptance rates for males than females, as well as a higher acceptance rate for white people rather than people of color. A 2009 Princeton study found that â€Å"Asian-Americans had to score 140 points higher on their SATs than whites, 270 points higher than Hispanics and 450 points higher than blacks to have the same chance of admission to leading universities.†(NY Times). With the obvious additional racial barrier itShow MoreRelatedInequality Of The American Dream1368 Words   |  6 PagesInequality Do you think the American dream is still a concept today? If so, is it still possible to achieve this American dream? The American dream can be described as the success of life, and the goals achieved. 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Social inequality comes in many forms. It is a social construct that many people do not see affecting their daily lives, let alone the American society as a whole. According to The Sociology Project 2.0, a social construct is An invented social phenomenon (for example a belief, discourseRead MoreDegrees Of Inequality : How The Politics Of Higher Education Impacted The American Dream1866 Words   |  8 PagesDegrees of Inequality: How the politics of higher education sabotaged the American Dream is a well-written and well-researched book that helps readers explore the intricacies of higher education policy while allowing them to discover how the policyscape has furthered inequality and enhanced classism in America (Mettler, 2014). The text itself is empirical in nature, and is the culmination of eight years-worth of mixed-methods research. According to the â€Å"Acknowledgement† and â€Å"Notes† sections of the